sabato 28 novembre 2015

Tech or no Tech : the impact on teacher development

MM7: Tech or no Tech: the impact on teacher development with Louise Emma Potter
The event took place on Tuesday 24 November 2015. The presenter was  Louise Emma Potter. I could not attend the webinar and  watched the recording.





What the  presenter  focussed on 
Technology is now part of our  daily life and we work, live, traveland study thanks to the use of  modern  technology.  Technology is  now  used for  socializing  too. The issue  discussed by the presenter was that today we still teach in the old way but in real life we use technology. This happens in spite of the fact  that our world has  changed in the last 20 years and  our students use technology more than we do. Teachers have to change their way of thinking!


Today we have  different students: they are  twenty-first century students. They  have to  use presentation  skills, to have critical skills.  Also education needs changing.       
Some key ideas  expressed by the presenter: there is a difference between  USING TECHNOLOGY and  INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY, which takes into consideration the active learners and what they do at school. This is an interesting comparison presented by Louise  Emma Potter: the students are " active learners" when we integrate technology  into our  teaching.



What is really important is having students who are inquisitive, open-minded and flexible. They know how to work and how to think. Creativity is also important in schools, often we face students who are scared.  Communication is  really important. Collaboration and  how we work are more and more  important.
She has  shared her ideas about   Project Based Learning  which can offer very engaging activities.
Personally I would like to work on PBL but  I am also aware of the great changes we should work on. teachers, students and also the learning  environment.

What she says  is interesting and I agree  teachers need to collaborate, work on self-development and be less teacher-centred.

Like other teachers and presenters in webinars she thinks that teachers need to be connected and share more and more what they are learning and experiencing. A lot of EFL teachers are still working and are aware of this.In one  webinar the name of  Shelly Sanchez Terrell was mentioned as a great innovator. There are a lot of innovators today. 

The webinar has presented most of the ideas which have been shared by other presenters and I agree that when teaching we must go beyond  " grammar and lexis" and  think more  about  the importance of  cultural issues, digital skills and 21st-century skills. 





To the next webinar.....................................................................................




                                                                                                                             





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